This miso crunch salad with edamame, chickpeas, cabbage and kale features big flavours, plenty of nutrition and is easy to prepare in less than 20 minutes. Enjoy for a tasty side dish or main paired with your choice of protein.
🔍 A Quick Look at the Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes.
- Servings: Makes 4 servings for a side dish or 2-3 for a main.
- Nutrition: 269 calories with 17g protein + 19g fibre.
- Dietary Info: Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, can be nut-free.
- Difficulty: Easy! Prepare the veggies, mix the dressing and combine!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below is a quick overview of what you’ll need to make the recipe and any substitutions you can make. Use the recipe card with the full list of ingredients and measurements at the bottom of the post when you’re ready to make the recipe.
- Cabbage: The recipe calls for both red and green cabbage but if you only have one, you can just use that.
- Kale: I used Tuscan kale (dinosaur kale or lacinato kale). It has a milder, less bitter taste than curly kale so it works well in salads but regular kale is just fine too.
- Edamame: I used frozen shelled edamame.
- Snap Peas: You can use snap peas or snow peas.
- Chickpeas: You can use a 14-19 oz can depending on what’s available. Drain and rinse before use.
- Miso: White or yellow miso paste is suggested.
- Sesame Oil: I used toasted sesame oil but regular sesame oil works too.
- Rice Vinegar: You can use rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Maple Syrup: You can use maple syrup or honey to sweeten the dressing.
- Tahini: If you don’t have tahini, peanut butter or almond butter work.
- Nuts: You can use chopped peanuts or cashews for topping.
Variations
- Add protein to make it a main: Crispy baked tofu, tempeh cubes, chicken or salmon, shrimp.
- Make it a grain bowl: Serve over rice, quinoa, brown rice or soba noodles.
- Spicy version: Add up to 1 tbsp sambal oelek, sriracha or chili crisp to the dressing, or drizzle chili crisp over top when serving.
- Nut-free version: Omit peanuts or cashews or replace with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.
- Extra Veggies: Try grated carrot, thinly sliced bell pepper or diced celery or cucumber.
Expert Tips
- Make sure you massage the kale and cabbage to soften. It’s not just coating it with salt but breaking down the fibre which just makes it a lot more enjoyable to eat.
- Use a mandolin to slice the cabbage if you have one so it’s thin and uniform.
- If you can let the salad sit 10 minutes before serving it will allow time for the cabbage to soften a little and flavours to meld.
- Make sure the miso is fully incorporated into the dressing so don’t have any chunks. You can shake vigorously in a jar or whisk with a fork or whisk to combine.
How to Make Miso Crunch Salad
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL miso crunch salad recipe down in the recipe card. This section provides a quickly step-by-step visual of how to make it.
- Make Dressing: In a medium bowl, combine miso, sesame oil, vinegar, maple syrup, tahini, garlic, ginger and water. Season with salt and pepper, then whisk until smooth and combined.
- To a large bowl, add kale and cabbage. Season with salt. Massage kale and cabbage, for about 30 seconds, until kale is bright green. Set aside.
- Blanch Edamame and Snap Peas: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add edamame and snap peas. Cook for 2-3 min, until bright green and tender. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
- Toss Salad: To the bowl with kale and cabbage, add chickpeas, edamame, snap peas and green onions. Pour dressing over top, then toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the salad with roughly chopped peanuts or cashews and chili crisp, if you like some heat and extra flavour. I love this Miso Chili Oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The sturdy kale and cabbage hold up well for meal prep. You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Leave the peanuts off until serving.
You can, it just has a stronger, saltier flavour so you may want to reduce the amount slightly.
Store the salad in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. The salad is not suitable for freezing.
If you make this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe, and I love to hear from you. Thanks for trying my recipes! – Deryn
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Place a pot of salted water on the stovetop over high heat to bring to a boil.
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Massage Kale and Cabbage: To a large bowl, add kale and cabbage. Season with salt. Massage kale and cabbage, for about 30 sec, until kale is bright green. Set aside.
2 cups shredded green cabbage, 2 cups shredded purple cabbage, 3 cups finely chopped Tuscan kale
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Make Dressing: In a medium bowl, combine miso, sesame oil, vinegar, maple syrup, tahini, garlic, ginger and water. Season with salt and pepper, then whisk until smooth and combined.
1½ tbsp white or yellow miso, 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil, 1 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey, 1 tbsp tahini, 1 garlic clove, crushed or grated, 2 tsp grated ginger, 2 tbsp warm water
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Blanch Edamame and Snap Peas: Once the water is boiling, add edamame and snap peas. Cook for 2-3 min, until bright green and tender. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
1 cup shelled edamame, 1 cup snap peas, roughly chopped
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Toss Salad: To the bowl with kale and cabbage, add chickpeas, edamame, snap peas and green onions. Pour dressing over top, then toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
1 can chickpeas, 4 green onions, Salt and pepper
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Top with roasted peanuts or cashews just before serving. Drizzle with chili crisp, if desired.
¼ cup roasted peanuts or cashews
Store salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 269kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 274mg, Potassium: 700mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 12g, Vitamin A: 2515IU, Vitamin C: 71mg, Calcium: 170mg, Iron: 5mg
